Lead generation
... your key to winning new business

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Every business needs to put a lead generation plan in place. No matter how good you are at retaining your existing customers, some of them will leave you. Companies go out of business, people move house, sometimes you’ll even lose them to competitors.

So it’s important to keep filling that sales funnel. Don’t expect to hit high enquiry and conversion rates. As long as you’re creating new ways for customers to learn about your value proposition, you’ll get enough quality leads filtering through.

Here are the main methods of lead generation I recommend:

• New business – remove the risk to the customer;
• Mailing lists – find the right one for you;
• Telemarketing – especially in B2B situations;
• Public relations – your free route to new sales;
• Directory advertising – get Yellow Pages working for you;
• Print advertising - classified or display?;
• Leaflets – useful for local businesses;
• Direct sales – it’s all about qualification and closing;
• Referrals – your customers can say the nicest things;
• Internet marketing – you have to be in to win;
• Free advice – give away some of your valuable secrets;
• Joint ventures – affiliates, resellers and more